Dr. Phil Zeltzman’s Blog

Jules is a cute and incredibly sweet Corgi mix, who is understandably totally spoiled rotten by her owner (it just means Jules is much-loved)!

Sadly, she had a tibial crest avulsion, or broken shin bone, shortly after turning 4 months of age. Because the fracture was minimally displaced, we tried to skip surgery. Two weeks later, follow up X-rays showed that the fracture was significantly worse!

Jules was scheduled for surgery at Berks Animal Emergency & Referral Center in Shillington, Pennsylvania after the holidays. We were literally about to make an incision in the skin when I had a hunch. Something didn’t feel right. I thought that we should repeat X-rays and know how the fracture was before jumping into surgery. We moved Jules from the OR to the X-ray room.

Amazingly, the fracture had healed enough on its own that I decided to abort surgery.

Jules’ owner writes: “I am so very thankful to Dr. Zeltzman for helping out with my puppy Jules, who was scheduled for surgery this week. Before beginning surgery, he listened to his gut feeling and decided to re-X-ray her leg to make sure it hadn’t improved with rest. Much to everyone’s surprise, it had! Jules and I are both so very grateful that he did that rather than go directly into surgery. Thank you, Dr. Zeltzman!”

After a few weeks of rest, we’ll start to increase Jules’ activity progressively and she’ll be in top shape in no time!

The December 7 x-ray shows the broken shin bone.

An x-ray on Christmas eve shows the fracture has gotten worse.

A late Christmas gift! By 1/5/16, the fracture improved so much, Jules didn’t need surgery.

Beautiful Babette came into the veterinarian when her owner noticed mass under the skin of the belly.

She had several mammary tumors that needed removal at South Mountain Veterinary Hospital.

Before we removed any of the masses, we spayed her. During surgery, a mass was noticed on the spleen, so we obtained the owner’s permission to remove the spleen. Finally, we removed the mammary masses.

Babette recovered quickly from anesthesia and went home the same day. One week later, the biopsies came back as entirely benign! The mammary masses were adenomas and the spleen mass was lymphoid hyperplasia.

The mammary masses may have have been totally prevented if Babette had been spayed before the first heat cycle. Her owners didn’t know and felt terribly guilty. Thankfully Babette’s story had a happy ending, but remember spaying and neutering pets is the best option for their health!

Fred is a fourteen year old Shih Tzu who is all ears. In fact, his a left ear was a little too big as a firm mass at the base continued to grow.

His owners decided to proceed with surgery even though Fred was a senior and cancer was likely. I removed the mass at Barton Heights Veterinary Hospital.

A week later, the mass was revealed to be a trichoblastoma. Previously called basal cell tumor, a trichoblastoma is a common benign tumor derived from a hair follicle. They are often found in Poodles and Cockers who are six to nine years of age. They’ll normally develop on the face, head, and back area.

Fred recovered within minutes after surgery and is back to his old self!

Riley wasn’t feeling well. A five year old Lab, he wasn’t acting like himself and had been vomiting. He went to Berks Animal Emergency and Referral Center and had an X-ray taken.

The arrow is pointing at a very subtle abnormal area. If you look closely, you can see the “grainy” structure that is classic for a corn cob. Corn cobs are notoriously difficult to see on X-rays. Riley is very lucky that a doctor at the emergency hospital noticed the anomaly!

Abdominal surgery revealed the corn cob stuck was stuck the small intestine. The strange thing is that the only known cob he chewed on was possibly swallowed on Memorial Day, five months prior.

Riley will make a full recovery. His owner says,”Riley thanks you so much for taking such good care of him. He is healing up nicely and can’t wait to have the cone come off!”

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Testimonial

“ Words can not express the gratitude we have for performing TPLO surgery on Kikka. She is doing amazing! You would never know she had surgery. She walks and runs perfect! Our dog has a wonderful active life thanks to you. ”

“ Just wanted to let you know that Darwin is doing great, running in the snow, and playing with his brothers. He is clearly a happy dog. Thank you it was well worth it. ”

“ There are no words nor enough cookies in the world that can express my gratitude to all of you for taking such good care of my baby. You have all been so kind and patient with all my questions and visits. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping Chase. ”

“ We have so much to be thankful for and especially thankful for the rejuvenation of our sweet Cala. She is a new dog thanks to the surgery! I just love having her healthy and happy again. Thank you for giving her and her family more time together. ”

“ Dear Miracle Workers, Thank you for your kind attention and care for our baby Baci! We are so grateful and thankful for all you have done to help him. You are a gift!"

“ I wanted to thank you deeply for the wonderful work you did on Buddy’s knees. He has been doing so well that he can jump two feet off the sofa from a running start! He’s a very happy dog and so are we. We will be proud to recommend you to anyone! "

“ You reconstructed the leg of my cat, Silla, who had suffered a spiral fracture of the left tibia. I am delighted to say that Silla, who is now almost 4, is still doing well. :-) Thank you for such a wonderful job well done!!! ”

“ Thank you for making Zoey almost as good as new. The recovery went faster and better than we expected. It has been a pleasure working with you. ”

“ We cannot thank you enough. We have no children, and our puppies mean the world to us. Every minute that we have with her since that day, we owe to you. So again, from the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ”

“ Words cannot describe how grateful my wife and I are for saving Dusty’s life. Although we were hesitant to have the surgery, you told us that age is not a disease and Dusty is otherwise healthy. Two weeks after surgery, Dusty is happier than ever! Has loads of energy and breathes normally now! ”

“ I cannot thank you enough for what you have done for Harley, and for us, his family. If it had not been for you and your orthopedic skills, Harley would have either lost his leg or maybe even put down. You are truly an extraordinary surgeon. Thank you for giving Harley back to us. ”

“ Thank you for all your love and care while Maverick stayed with you! How comforting to know there are still nice people in the word who care about animals so much (including the caring attitude toward their owners). Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, and Maverick’s. ”

“ I wanted to say thanks again for being so responsive and caring and for returning my little doggie back to health. He is a smiling boy once again! Many, many thanks to you. ”

“ It is almost a year since you repaired the broken foreleg of my then tiny black kitten Cinder. He is now big, strong, and very active. Thanks again for your expertise and dedication. ”

The materials offered on this website are intended for educational purposes only. Dr Phil Zeltzman does not provide any veterinary medical services or guidance via the Internet. Please consult your pet’s veterinarian in matters regarding the care of your animals.